Policy on US Immigration, Explained Daily

DHS Proposes 75% Hike in Citizenship Fees: N-400 Would Jump to $1,330 and Fee Waivers Would End

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Homeland Security has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would sharply raise the cost of applying for U.S. citizenship. The proposal appeared in the Federal Register on June 23, 2026 (91 FR 37500), and the public has until August 24, 2026 to submit comments.

The proposed fee increases:

Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization): the paper-filing fee would rise to $1,330 (from $760) and the online-filing fee to $1,280 (from $710) — roughly a 75% increase.
Form N-336 (Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings): would increase to $1,475 (from $830).

Fee waivers and reduced fees would be eliminated. Perhaps the most consequential part of the proposal is that it would do away with the reduced-fee option and most fee waivers for the N-400. Today, lower-income applicants can request a fee waiver or a reduced fee; under the proposed rule, that assistance would largely disappear. Current and former members of the U.S. armed forces would remain exempt from naturalization fees under existing statutory provisions.

H-1B Lottery Is Changing: DHS Weighted Selection Rule Gives Higher-Wage Jobs Up to 4x Better Odds

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The H-1B cap lottery as applicants have known it for years is being replaced. Under a DHS final rule published December 29, 2025 and effective February 27, 2026, USCIS will use a weighted selection process based on wage level — and it is set to apply to the FY 2027 registration period that runs in March 2026.

How the new system works. Instead of giving every registration an equal single chance, the new process enters each beneficiary into the selection pool a number of times tied to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level their offered salary meets for the relevant occupation and location:

USCIS Will Grant Adjustment of Status Only in "Extraordinary Circumstances": What the New Policy Memo Means

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

USCIS has issued a major policy memorandum (PM-602-0199, dated May 21, 2026) reframing adjustment of status (AOS) — the process of obtaining a green card from inside the United States — as a discretionary, “extraordinary” form of relief rather than a routine step. The agency announced it will grant AOS only when an applicant demonstrates extraordinary circumstances.

What changed. The memo reminds officers and the public that adjustment of status has always been, by statute, a matter of discretion and “administrative grace.” Going forward, USCIS officers are directed to weigh all relevant factors on a case-by-case basis and to grant AOS only when the applicant affirmatively shows positive equities that justify approval. In practice, that shifts the burden: it is no longer enough to be technically eligible and have nothing disqualifying in your record — you must affirmatively demonstrate why approval is warranted.